better business december 2015 · 2015-12-16 · select social media marketing saskatoon ... avana...
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creative and well-organized. Scammers also offer extremely plausible stories and many have done their research – they often have custom scams based on a victim’s profession or family and can often name details to estab-lish credibility.
BBB works closely with local, provincial and federal law en-forcement agencies, providing them with valuable information on potential frauds. We are often the first organization to know about a developing scam, and we issue regular “Scam Alerts” to warn consumers about fraudulent busi-nesses and practices.
When it comes to scams, there are a few simple ways to protect yourself:
Consumer scams are a serious problem in North America. Last year consumers reported losing over $1.5 billion dollars to scams in more than one million fraud-related complaints, according to the Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
In Saskatchewan alone, there were 817 complaints in total to date in 2015.
Awareness and education are the best tools we have in the fight against fraud. The more infor-mation you have, the better you can protect yourself. BBB Serving Saskatchewan is pleased to be part of BBB Scam Stopper, a partnership with Western Union – a leader in moving money around the globe – to educate consumers on the common scams con artists use and to share tips on how to detect scams.
BBB Accredited Businesses are encouraged to share this infor-mation with employees and cus-tomers. Smart people get scammed every day. Many people think they would never fall for a scam but the truth is that fraud-sters today are very sophisticated,
* Don’t ever send cash via mon-ey transfer to someone you don’t know personally or haven’t met in person.
* Never send money for an emergency situation without verifying that it is a real emer-gency.
* Never send funds from a cheque in your account until it officially clears—which can take several days or longer.
And remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Visit www.bbb.org/scamstopper or to Scam Tracker www.bbb.org/scamtracker/saskatchewan to learn more and help protect you, your employees and your loved ones from be-coming victims of scams.
BBB Scam Tracker and Scam Stopper
Happy Holidays!
This will be the last newsletter for 2015. We hope you like the new features we've introduced this year. As always, we look forward to your comments and suggestions. Remember we asked for your input into forming additional networking groups across the province. We have one in Saskatoon which I will have had the pleasure of at-tending on Dec, 8, 2015. In Regina, we are holding an come and go Holiday Reception on December 16, 2015 from 4-6:30 pm to end the year. Come and
meet some of the Board, the staff you talk to, see a demo of how to use some of the AB features and network with other like-minded businesses. Starting in January, the Regina crew will be holding a breakfast networking event. It will be the second Wednesday of each month. We're just firming up the details of the location. Stay Tuned!
Remember to come visit us at 980 Albert Street on Wednesday December 16 from 4-6:30pm for
our Holiday Reception. Please RSVP by December 14.
Special points of interest:
Our office will be closed
from December 24,
2015 at noon to January
4, 2016. Please send us
a email if needed.
Network Events in
Saskatoon and Regina
Torch Awards April 21,
2015 get your tickets.
December 2015
Inside this issue:
Christmas Scams 2
Check out our list! 2
Privacy Policies 3
Welcome Mat 3
Volunteers 4
BBB Office Staff 4
For your information 4
Better Business
Bureau of
Saskatchewan, Inc.
The Echo
Better Business Bureau of
Saskatchewan
980 Albert Street, Regina SK
S4R 2P7
Website: www.sask.bbb.org
888-352-7601
Funded by business peo-ple who are in support of their belief that ethics in
business matters!
From the folks that know who’s been naughty or nice!
Access a reliability report, do an Ac-credited Business search, or try the
new eQuote. We have information on both local and national companies.
www.sask.bbb.org
Phony charities: Everyone is in a gener-ous mood at the holidays, so scammers take advantage of that with fake charity
solicitations in email, on social media sites, and even by text. Check out charities at give.org before donating.
Temporary holiday jobs: Retailers and delivery services need extra help at the holidays, but beware of solicitations
that require you to share personal information online or pay for a job lead. Apply in person or go to retailers’ main websites to find out who is hiring.
Unusual forms of payment: Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay for holiday purchases using prepaid debit cards, gift cards, wire transfers, third parties, etc.
These payments cannot be traced and cannot be undone. Use a credit card on a secure website; look for https in the address (the extra “s” is for “secure”) and the lock symbol.
Free gift cards: Pop-up ads or email offering free gift cards are often just a ploy to get your personal information that
can later be used for identity theft.
Social media gift exchange: It sounds like a great deal; buy one gift and get 36 in return. But it’s just a variation on
a pyramid scheme and it’s illegal.
To find out more about scams or to report one, go to BBB Scam Tracker.
Santa isn’t the only one keeping track of who is naughty and who is nice! Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to beware of these common holiday scams:
Look-alike websites: When shopping online, make sure to use only legitimate websites. Watch out for URLs that use the
names of well-known brands along with extra words.
Fake shipping notifications: These can have attachments or links to sites that will download malware on your computer to
steal your identity and your passwords. Don’t be fooled by a holiday phishing scam.
E-cards: Electronic cards can be great fun, but be careful. Two red flags to watch out for are: the sender’s name is
not apparent; you are required to share addi-tional information to get the card.
Letters from Santa: Several trusted com-panies offer charming and personalized letters from Santa, but scammers mimic
them to get personal information from unsus-pecting parents. Check with bbb.org to find out which ones are legitimate.
Grandparents scam: Seniors should be cautious if they get a call from a grand-child claiming to be in an accident, arrest-
ed or hospitalized while traveling in another country. Never send money unless you confirm with another family member that it’s true.
Page 2 Better Business Bureau of Saskatchewan, Inc.
Avoid These Holiday Scams
Check Out Our List!
Check out sask.bbb.org to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, report a scam, read tips, follow us on so-cial media, and more!
A privacy policy is a legal notice providing information about how a website visitor's personal in-formation will be used. When your website gathers such infor-mation, a privacy policy is something your company should strongly consider. More than ever, consumers care and are worried about the privacy and security of their personal information. Consumers are aware that if sensitive data falls into the wrong hands, it could lead to fraud or identity theft. Businesses should understand the importance of being clear about what is done with con-sumer data and what data is being collected. Safeguarding personally identifiable data is quickly becoming an increasing-ly important role as a best busi-ness practice in today’s market-place. Businesses with clear privacy policies can stand out against their competitors. Better Business Bureau (BBB) takes
consumer privacy very seri-ously. BBB Accredited Busi-nesses agree to adhere to the BBB Code of Business Practices, which includes a standard for protecting con-sumer privacy. BBB Sas-katchewan contacts Accredit-ed Businesses conducting e-commerce to ensure that they have a privacy policy. BBB asks that the privacy policy be posted in an area of the web-site that is viewable prior to or at the time the consumer sup-plies personally identifiable data.
Failure to comply with Stand-ard 7 of the BBB Code of Business Practices could lead to suspension or revocation of the accreditation status of a business.
#7. Safeguard Privacy
Protect any data collected against mishandling and fraud, collect personal information only as needed, and respect the preferences of customers re-garding the use of their infor-mation. An accredited business or organization agrees to:
A. Respect Privacy Businesses conducting e-commerce agree to disclose on their website the following:
• what information they collect, • with whom it is shared, • how it can be corrected, • how it is secured, • how policy changes will be communicated, and; • how to address concerns over misuse of personal data.
BBB offers tips on establishing a privacy policy and a sample privacy policy is available, please give our office a call.
Morgans Contracting Saskatoon New Age Inspections Saskatoon Pat Sirois Remax Saskatoon Saskatoon Poth Home Solutions And General Contracting Inc. Martensville Rick’s Custom Cabinets & Renovations Regina Select Social Media Marketing Saskatoon Sky High Home Renovations Inc. Regina Ultimate Plumbing and Heating Ltd Regina Usonia Homes Inc. Regina
Alero Moving & Storage Regina Avana Homes White City Chico's Auto Repair Inc. Saskatoon East West Heating Inc. Saskatoon Evolved Roofing Inc. Saskatoon Excel Roofing Regina Fineline Developments Inc. Saskatoon Foster's Shoes (Saskatoon) Saskatoon Hoda Roofing Saskatoon J & L Frame & Alignment Inc. Saskatoon J L Squared Acquisitions and Development Inc. Saskatoon Mark's Plumbing and Heating Ltd. Saskatoon
Page 3
Welcome Mat 2015 New Accredited Businesses from Sept.1 to Nov. 30
The Importance of Privacy Policies
Part of Accreditation Standards
BBB 2015-2016 Board of Directors BIM PANDYA – CHAIR Conexus Art Centre STEVE LAUGHLIN – PAST CHAIR
Regina Accounting Service DOUGLAS KEAM – VICE CHAIR Speers Funeral Chapel DON RAMAGE – SECRETARY Focal Point Coaching Saskatoon JIM DEANE – TREASURER Access Communications
ARLENE ROBLIN JonesE Property Maintenance
Coming up Events:
Nominations now accepted online for the Torch Awards, check out our website.
Torch Award Sponsorship, please call Karen or Bim.
Torch Awards April 21, 2016
Pre-Event Panel & Roundtable
This year, we will be providing an op-portunity to hear business leaders discuss how they would handle a ‘touchy’ ethical dilemma. You’ll be able to participate via roundtable dis-cussions.
Business Name Volunteers Page 4
*Trade-mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus used under license
BBB OFFICE STAFF
Karen L. Smith CEO - [email protected]
Michelle Phillips Operations Manager - [email protected] Jody Halladay Senior Dispute Consultant – Investigations [email protected] Lisha Collinge Dispute Consultant – Ad Review - [email protected] Sharon Mula – Admin Assistant - [email protected]
ACCREDITED BUSINESS CONSULTANTS Northern Marketing and Sales
Ron Jacobs 306-384-1001 Direct Line 888-229-0569 Toll Free [email protected]
Doug Birkmaier 306-249-1722
Southern Marketing and Sales Tom Wendel 306-684-0984 Phone [email protected]
Dave Scheirer 306-961-1023 [email protected]
ALLAN MILLHAM DirectWest Corporation CHRIS McCANNELL McCannell Financial Group Ltd.
TRACY DUFF Skye Planning Group Inc. JIM NICHOLS Housemaster Home Inspections RON VILLENEUVE Quality Hearing Centre ROBERT MILLAR – LEGAL COUNSEL
For your Information
AB Networking Events: Saskatoon - December 8,
11:30-1:30pm at Smileys Buf-fet 702 Circle Drive E. Come meet the new CEO of BBB
Regina December 16, 4-6:30pm for our Holiday Come & Go Reception at the BBB office. Meet the CEO and the Board of Directors, and our knowledgeable staff.
January dates more info in next months newsletter.
January 12 lunch Saskatoon January 13 breakfast Regina
Better Business Bureau
of Saskatchewan, Inc.
980 Albert Street
Regina, SK S4R 2P7
888-352-7601